So it begins

[Elysian]

I got a old compaq case from my ex gf's mom, i've been looking for something to build my external water enclosure with... this case looks like the solution... it started out as this

i've shortened it by 5.5", and i'm going to use the 5.25" bays for my radiator(its slightly longer than the case, so i'm going to make the front the back)... i've chopped this case up, had to do a few pop rivets already for some added support... i'm going to put a shroud with 2 120mm fans up top of the case, riveted in place of course, and i'm going to put sides made of sheet metal on it, also riveted in place(wish i owned a welder, but can only afford so much, so pop rivets it is!)... also going to have a hinged door on the side of it, so i can access the reservoir etc, and i'm going to use a V shaped piece of sheet metal to direct the flow coming out of the radiator towards the sides, which i will cut out and put grills in... have a grill on top for the 2 120mm fans, and have grils on the side for air to escape... my reservoir has a pump in it, but i also have another pump, which is going to reside on the outside of the case, just under the radiator's fitting... connect those together and i'm in business. then i'll have the radiator's outlet go down the back of the case to a quick disconnect fitting on the back of my comp case, have that quick disconnect go to my water block, and have another quick disconnect going out of the comp case back up to the water cooling enclosure... then i'll have some sort of 90 degree angle fitting on the back of the case so that i don't have to bend tubing much... my goal here is to not bend the tubing at all, but instead use 90 degree angle fittings for my bends... part of that goal is for cleanliness inside the case, as well as air flow reasons... it'll allow me to organize as much as possible the insides of my case... i'm using a MCW-6000K block, which should ship from swiftech tomorrow... i gotta wait for more money to roll in to finish this up, but i'll be posting pics along the way... heres a mock up of the case with duct tape(i know its the classiest!!!) just to start it off with
and yes i realize nothing i'm doing is revolutionary, but i feel i should share it lol

 

[Russ]

looks good, but wouldn't you want to put more than one rad in there with all that room? Dual 120.2 goodness.

 

[Elysian]

looks good, but wouldn't you want to put more than one rad in there with all that room? Dual 120.2 goodness.

more than 1 rad? my 1 rad is already too big! it sticks out the end... i'll post a pic of that probly in about an hour, waiting for some jb weld to dry(i accidentally cut into my rad while working on fitment etc...)... its a 240x120 rad as it is lol

 

[BillR]

Wow, I saw that case and chills ran down my spine…I’ve had to fix so many of those.

Thank you so much for removing that one from it’s intended use

 

[Elysian]

Wow, I saw that case and chills ran down my spine…I’ve had to fix so many of those.

Thank you so much for removing that one from it’s intended use

actually they had to replace it lol, it broke... i had upgraded it slightly from when they got it, had a bit more ram, had an old ati 8 mb rage pro card(which will actually go in my server now!) and its got 3 64mb PC100 sticks, but i can't put those in my future server, cause it requires registered... probly put em on ebay, they won't fetch much but hey money is money right? lol

 

[Russ]

more than 1 rad? my 1 rad is already too big! it sticks out the end... i'll post a pic of that probly in about an hour, waiting for some jb weld to dry(i accidentally cut into my rad while working on fitment etc...)... its a 240x120 rad as it is lol

well yea, but Biohazard has 2x 240x120 rads in his case. Course it's like a 3ft by 3 ft cube.

 

[Elysian]

well yea, but Biohazard has 2x 240x120 rads in his case. Course it's like a 3ft by 3 ft cube.

lol yeah this one wouldn't have been easy to fit 2 in, especially in the space limit i have... i basically sized this enclosure so its almost completely filling the available space... and i'm actually thinking i might still have to modify my desk by taking a shelf out thats above my case... cause when i planned the initial size of the case i didn't think i'd put a shroud on top with 2 fans, but thats a bit of a necessity now with the amount of room between the reservoir and the radiator... it'll work out though and its gonna kick ass!

 

[Elysian]

more mock up pictures... i want to get it mocked up before i start much of the real work... its gonna come together pretty nicely i think... i still have to buy 2 120mm fans, a lot of sheet metal, and a lot more dremel bits... and some different sized pop rivets(smaller than the ones i currently have)... so without further ado

i'm also going to remove the metal from the 5.25" bays up to the tabs that are holding the radiator in place, to give it a bit of a cleaner look, also to facilitate the V shaped plate i plan on using to direct air out both sides of the case

 

[Elysian]

anyone have experience bending sheet metal? i don't have one of those clampomatic machinerbobbers to do it with, i'm thinking of taking 2 2x4s, clamping them on each end around a piece of sheet metal to bend the parts for my shroud...

 

[Elysian]

well i might just finish this tomorrow minus the water block! i have 150 bux coming in tomorrow from selling some rx7 parts, and i also have an auction for a set of BMW M Roadster headlights that starts at 400 bux and has 5 people watching, which also ends tomorrow, and requires payment immediately... gonna have a real nice cooling solution here soon! maybe a peltier is in my system's future lol... nahhh too much work to keep up a peltier... least it was back in the day when i had a 156w peltier attached to a leufkin CFI water block.... man and that was a great setup too, cooled my AXP 1600+ at 1.6ghz to 12C, cooled my p4 2.0 at 2.9ghz to -6C... but i killed a motherboard due to condensation, and the vasoline i tried to put under the processor melted out when i turned the system off and the peltier would heat up because of losing power...

 

[Elysian]

made some more progress today, started working on the shell of the enclosure... i still need to get some sort of hinge and latching mechanism for the door, and i need to make the layout for the back of the case, lots of work ahead... i spent a ton of money today, on the tools and supplies i would need to finish this, but i still haven't bought everything... i've probly put as much into this enclosure now as i have my whole water cooling kit lol, but i think it will be worth it in the end, not to mention i have a whole lot more tools, and more tools is good! so heres some pics

i'm going to need to pull out the good ol file and clean up some edges, as well as trim the excess off the back of the case, and straighten out some lines in the panels, but its coming along very nicely.

 

[Elysian]

more progress today, got the door on, tomorrow i'll hit up radio shack and pick up another 120mm fan and start making the shroud, and also mount the magnets that will hold the door closed... gonna put a cool little handle on the door too...

i also need to plan and cut out the holes on the side of the case for where i want the air flow to go

 

[Elysian]

another update, probly talking to myself with all these posts but i feel the need to share hahaha... i made my v shaped deal to make the air go where i want it to, and i cut out one of the holes on the side of the case for the air to escape, but i ran out of cutting wheels so i wasn't able to finish cutting out the other hole... gonna hit up lowes tomorrow and get yet more stuff(and maybe check out with the same cute chick i keep going to hahaha)... also got the magnets and handle for the door put in... so on with the pics

used my trusty 2 pieces of wood and clamp to bend up that v shaped piece, worked great...

 

[Russ]

looking good. And very fast-paced work. Keep it up.

 

[Elysian]

looking good. And very fast-paced work. Keep it up.

thx, probly gonna hit a road block now, need more funding, i start working again on sunday, but won't get paid for 2 weeks after that(though it'll be one fat check, can you say raise? lol)... my car parts aren't selling anymore, so it kinda limits me until i get paid again... i can still hit this up with a file to get rid of all the sharp edges, but after that theres not a lot i can do

 

[Elysian]

oops forgot to post this image, this is what the handle looks like